When ever I hear or read comments by Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, I am reminded of the boy who yelled “fire” in the crowded movie theater again and again.

Donohue finds a Catholic conspiracy under every rock. But when he defends the Church in the ongoing sex abuse trials and tribulations, I think he’s made the right call. If there were only one case of clergy sexual abuse, it would be tragic. That there were thousands substantiated coupled with the lax oversight by some bishops in the U.S. has damaged the church’s reputation.

For nearly two decades beginning in the early 1980’s, reporting of abuses by clergy began to mushroom and there were some attempts by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to address the problems, but they were not uniform.

Not until Boston’s cases exploded in 2002 did the bishops enact a national policy.

So ten years ago this month, the U.S. Bishops adopted “The Charter for the Protection of Children,” which stipulated that no clergyman with even one credible accusation of sexual abuse of a minor could function publicly, thus the zero tolerance policy.

This has ended the careers of hundreds of priests across the country. Some resigned outright, others were forcibly laicized that is, reduced to the lay state and some were simply able to retire. And many were convicted and are serving prison time.

The charter also enacted reforms so that hundreds of thousands of clergy, church and school employees and volunteers had to undergo finger printing, background checks and education about spotting signs of sexual abuse and how to report it. This education continues on a regular basis. There have certainly been revelations that continue that shock the public. But Donohue: is right: the Church is reforming its policies and solving the problem.

But others in the country, including some associations of abused victims, are hell bent on humiliating the Church and suing it for more money than it can ever afford. And they want more officials to suffer.

Take the case of Msgr. William Lynn, 61, of Philadelphia, convicted last Friday of endangering the lives of children by transferring abusive priests instead of removing them.

His job title was clergy personnel director for the Philadelphia Archdiocese from 1992 to 2004. That meant that he would do the background work for clergy transfers and promotions and advise the Archbishop, then Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, since deceased, who had the sole authority to decide.

Lynn could have turned blue in the face but if Bevilacqua, who was reported to be autocratic and had canon and civil law degrees, wanted something done, Lynn had to obey. He could also have resigned, which he did not.

Lynn also had to work with a personnel board and other bishops below the cardinal and an array of other officials whose pecking order trumped him. No matter how many times Lynn’s defense team tried to explain that his role was advisory, it was not understood how the diocesan structure and clerical culture operate.

I think Lynn was made to be a scapegoat for the failure to prosecute and remove any bishop for past offenses.

Cardinal Bernard Law from Boston was transferred to a Roman Basilica. Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City goes on trial in September.

Some critics say that the statute of limitation protects offending clergy. But the Church investigated on its own and removed scores of those clergy, even though they did not face criminal prosecution.

And Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, who when he was Archbishop of Milwaukee allegedly gave stipends to cover priests’ transitions to inactive status, is criticized for paying off offending clergy. I think he was acting is a spirit of compassion to help broke priests as the Church has expended billions of dollars to award those who were horribly abused.

The Second Vatican Council referred to the Church as “a pilgrim people,” which means we are still and always will be finding our way in the world. Revenge may be sweet but it also destructive, and the U.S. Bishops can lead the Church to transparency, forgiveness and renewal. After ten years, The Charter has put the Church on that journey.

Santora is the pastor of The Church of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, Hoboken, 07030; phone (201) 659-0369; fax (201) 659-5833; e-mail: padrealex@yahoo.com